Twocubdad

It's been a decade since I was involved in Cubs, so pardon me if I don't take the time to drill into this. But did I understand these changes include an earlier cross-over date that the late-winter time frame many of us are accustomed to?

Our troop tries it's best to go the troop activity route. Unfortunately, with six merit badge class sessions a day the time with open camp facilities is very limited. Most camp areas are open for troops to sign up between 4:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon. But it's a hard sell as most kids just want to crash for a bit before dinner and it's tough to get much of a program going in one hour minus travel and set up time. The camp is more than willing to allow us to use vacant land for what ever we want. We can set up our own aquatics area if we are willing to provide trained staff, our own gear and take the half-hour hike to the far side of the lake. Tell me why we're paying the camp for that?. We do try to make our camp site as interesting as possible. We take lots of toys to camp. We set have our own throwing knives and range, a great deal of handicraft equipment (woodcarving, leatherwork, etc.) We tried a slackline course (too hard for my klutzes). Corn hole is huge. This year we had a line of staff members visiting our site to play. Next year the guys want to build a bunch of corn hole sets and run a camp-wide tournament. Cracker barrel every night with watermelon, hand-turned ice cream or something out of the Dutch oven. Y'all are right in that troops get the camp programs the market demands. Ten years ago a neighboring council's camp was eating our lunch. There it was common for boys to come home with up to 8 or 9 MBs. Our camp responded by going from four morning MB sessions to offering a few MBs in the afternoon. That was a big hit so they began offering a full complement of classes in the afternoon. Attendance has picked up considerably since then. The camp director and camping committee will listen politely to the old dinosaur SMs but just shrug their shoulders. Those parents have to get their money's worth. I don't understand the "advancement season" concept. Merit badges are not a part of the troop program. Boys should be working on them individually and therefore work on them when ever they like. Our troop will cover merit badge "topics" during troop meeting instruction time, but it is wholly up to the scouts to individually contact the counselor and finish the badge. This spring we did a full month on forestry, including a campout during which we covered all the field work. Not one Scout has earned the badge or, to my knowledge, is still working on it. I know quite a few of them learned something about sustainable forest management. I am perfectly okay with that.

Given dfscott's situation, I don't suppose a hijack would hurt. So, Stosh -- I like you journaling idea. Can you expand on your instructions? Do you have a more detailed list of questions to prompt the sort of details you want?

Mostly true. They're also listening to mom and dad who want to get "their money's worth" from summer camp so Little Sweet Thing can make Eagle before high school.

I'm with Qwaze on this. I think the troop is being reasonable in both situations. While I'm sympathetic to the ASPL on camp staff, he's not fulfilling his responsibilities with the troop. Perhaps the SM could have arranged a "Scoutmaster-assigned leadership project" based on his camp duties, but only for Star and Life. I'd like to know what you mean, "haven't really given him access to the trailer" means. If the scout isn't attending meetings or campouts and is expecting someone to allow him access to the trailer on HIS schedule, I've got no sympathy. I'm dealing with a similar issue over SM conferences with a couple parents who expect that I should meet with their Scouts around their family vacations and sports practices. Nope, one night a week, one weekend a month. So I'll acknowledge a little personal bias here. It really sucks when adult issues make it impossible for Scouts to continue with a unit. Went though that once and it's a real heartbreaker. But we're volunteers here and there's a limit to the amount of drama we should have to deal with. Sometimes it's better to make a break and move on.

Never heard of this award. We've got someone in the community who deserves it. Anyone know the particulars?

Actually, KDD, it does say that and gives the example of a Scoutmaster conference, which should be a private conversation but held in a corner of a larger room, out of ear shot but within view of others. I frequently conduct conferences with Scouts at a local sandwich or coffee shop, just the Scout and I but in a very public place. This has the added benefit of allowing the Scout to demonstrate his character and good upbringing by insisting on buying my cup of coffee.

If a parent is the only counselor for some MB should be perfectly acceptable for a Scout to work with his/her parent under those circumstances. Christine -- I'm calling BS on you leader/ADC. A district with only two MBC's isn't possible. Has anyone made Eagle in the last year or so? If you're one of the two and you just started, your telling me the other counselor is doing ALL the MBs in the district. Right. Like I said, BS. And Assistant District Commissioner is no great shakes. That your SM is trying to throw that around tells me a lot more about the situation.

I've never seen a third-year scout react this way. His issues are WAY above your pay grade.

Sounds like you've done everything you can. I don't know about you guys, but we don't go to summer camp with enough adroit to provide 1:1 handholding. If the kid can't stand his mother being gone during the day, he needs to go home. It's rare, but every once in a while I get a boy who simply isn't ready or doesn't have the maturity for Boy Scouts. This sounds like one. His parents need to figure out his issues before dumping them on the troop.

Boys typically complete all sorts of requirements at camp. But because awards and recognitions are awarded through packs, day camps are careful not to step on the toes of unit leaders. Most camps (or at least the good ones) go to some trouble to report to unit leaders the accomplishments of their cubs at day camp so that the unit leaders can make the awards.

I can get behind Rick's answers, too. I don't think I would support all those options for my unit, but that's why they call it "local option." But it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg if the troop down the road takes advantage of those options. I do think accommodations would need to be made for multi-unit activities, coed week at summer camp, for example.

Pull you son's Scoutmaster aside and thank him for his interest in providing you son the best Scouting experience possible. It would be much easier for him to take the path of least resistance and not concern himself with the quality of the merit badge program. That he has this level of concern for the quality of your son's experience is admirable.

Spot on, Fred. All of which is precisely I don't like summer camp merit badges, merit badge universities and troop-sponsored merit badge classes.

Start a file labeled "Don't Waste Time With These Idiots" and put a picture of the bozo who gave you the bull about insurance in it. But SSS has the right answer -- YOU need to build a relationship with your CO. Ask how the pack can become active in the life of the church through service projects for the church and it's members. Ask if the Scouts can have a part in services on Scout Sunday. One local troop serves breakfast for it's congregation on Scout Sunday. Volunteer the boys to help with light yard work for elderly members of the church. Our CO is a major supporter of a local food ministry, so our troop does several projects a year to benefit those groups, too. Talk to the youth minister and ask how the pack and church can work together to offer the Religious Emblems program through the church (they're not just for Boy Scouts). And take every opportunity you can to remind the church leaders that for some of your boys Scouting is the only contact they have with a church. We don't at all try to "sell"our CO to our Scouts, but we do provide exposure they may not otherwise have.

We've had good luck with the Eureka Apex XT. Reasonably priced (about $130) and a good all-around tent. Not a super light-weight backpacker, but good enough. We've had several Philmont crews use them with no complaints. The XT version includes some upgraded hardware and they hold up pretty well. We first bought them 7-8 years ago and are just now having to retire a few of the oldest ones.

Very well said.

Dedkad -- if you were coaching a sport would you meet with the players before the first game? Of course! Counseling a MB is more than grading their papers. They are supposed to be learning from you. If they complete requirements before meeting with you, what have you brought to the table? Of course there are probably requirements which Scouts could complete before meeting with you, but why miss the opportunity?

I really hate it when someone posts a specific question and we end up trashing their entire program. Unfortunately, it's difficult not to do that here. Christineka, what your SM has asked you to do sounds like entertaining a cub scout den for a night, not running a troop meeting and certainly not counseling a merit badge. From your posts is doesn't sound like he has much of a handle on counseling merit badges, either. My suggestion to you is to take the opportunity to introduce all the Scouts to Family Life, explain the requirements to them and tell them how you expect them to complete the badge with you. DO NOT approach this as a "merit badge class". As has been mentioned before, perhaps you can discuss potential project ideas and give them some examples of projects you would find acceptable. Maybe you create chart for tracking their chores and distribute it. It is perfectly acceptable to lead a discussion in how to conduct a family meeting so the Scouts can move forward with that requirement. Then let the scouts know how they can get in touch with you to make an appointment if they choose to complete the badge now. THAT is the point at which you really begin to work with the Scouts as a counselor. Then let them play basketball the rest of the time.

That's exactly what my guys do at camp, except we call it free time and they don't earn merit badges at the end. (Seriously!) Otherwise that's one of the most lame justifications for a terrible program I've ever heard. Negative attitudes devalue their achievement? What achievement? The negative attitudes aren't devaluing the achievement, the LACK OF ACHIEVEMENT is devaluing their achievement. What happened to pride in doing something well, exceeding expectation and simply striving for excellence? I'm sick and tired of the race toward mediocrity.

Fred -- have you given any thought to what color the sky will be in that world? Ain't gonna happen. We're in a relatively small district have hundreds of MBCs. It's all our advancement guy can do to get an accurate list of the counselors every year. Forget any sort of screening of initial applications for quality control. Our system works here only because it is the units who recruit and vet the MBCs. It is the unit leaders who know these folks, know if they are qualified in the subject and know if they are the people of character we want working with our Scouts. The district guys have no way of knowing.

Scoutfam4 -- your ethical concerns may have been an issue at one point but no more. Current advancement policies and the new language on the blue cards themselves make the SMs signature on a blue card absolutely meaningless. The initial signature only indicates that the SM has "discussed" the MB with the Scout and recommended one counselor: SM -- Son, I strongly discourage you from taking this merit badge. You are wholly ill-prepared for it and will be doing yourself and the counselor a great disservice. I know the only reason you are interested is because your parents have promised you a new PlayStation when you complete it. The counselor I've recommended has a Nobel Prize in this subject, but I assume you will be using your father as counselor like the last 14 MBs you earned, correct? Scout -- Yes, sir. SM -- Okay, we've discussed. Here's your blue card. And the follow-up signature only serves as acknowledgement the completed card was received. So if the unit has no control over the MB process, what's the conflict with the SM? JP -- in a perfect world, I would agree with you about district vs. unit MBCs. But you can probably guess I think the world of BSA advancement is far, far, FAR from perfect. Recruiting, training and supervising our own unit MBCs is the only way we can ensure any sort of quality control. That said, by default we register all our unit MBC as open to counseling Scouts from other units although I can't cite a single instance with a Scout from another unit has used one of our counselors.. And I know the other units well enough that I can call a counselor from another unit and arrange for him/her to work with a Scout on an obscure badge. This is just how it works these days.

You guys are behind the times. There is now a procedure in the MB section of the Guide to Advancement for unit scouters to follow when they believe a merit badge was not properly earned. Otherwise, JoeBob has the right idea.

Limited government. Just dealing with the issue before you with out political posturing and grandstanding. Wow, what a concept. Apparently this Hallsmith lady is running for mayor. I'd vote for her.